Alone in a castle
by FutureMe
Summary: Eugene and Rapunzel spend their first night in the castle after the death of Gothel and being reunited with the King and Queen. Neither one of them can sleep and find comfort in each others arms.


It was the first night that he had ever stayed in a castle; it was different to how he had imagined it, lonelier than he had thought it would be. He strolled around the large room that he had graciously been given for the night. He poked at things, picked up old books and ornaments, absent mindedly turning them in his strong hands then putting them down again. His mind was focused on the girl at the other end of the hall, he wondered how she was, if she was finding this as strange as he was, if she was coping with the loss of her mother and finding a new family in such a small amount of time. Who am I kidding? He thought, she was born a princess; she was probably fitting right in, back in her home, where she belonged. He looked out the window at the moon light glittering on the bay, and the roof tops of the village, it was a beautiful place, she would be happy here, and maybe he could be too, he thought as he stared out. He'd find a way to make this place his home because he knew he was never leaving her side again.

He sighed and slumped down on the side of the bed, he may as well try and sleep he guessed; otherwise he would just stay up all night, thinking and worrying about her. He pulled off his boots and shirt and lay down on the soft linen, he brushed his hand over his scar, it had healed completely but sometimes it was as if he could still feel the cold steel inside him – the pain still lingered deep inside. He put his arms above his head and stretched out; he'd think about Rapunzel and distract himself until the pain subsided. Closing his eyes, he conjured her image up in his mind, her big innocent eyes, her petite, feminine figure and that smile, just the thought of it made him smile uncontrollably. He imagined the life they would have together; he couldn't wait to show her things, teach her things, there was so much she had never experienced. He would dance in the rain with her, teach her to ride Max, take her to palace balls and slowly in time he'd get to kiss her, lay with her and one day, make her his wife and make sweet love to her. His mind was lingering over the final thought, indulging in the details as his pulse quickened, he imagined what she would feel like, taste and smell like. He began to drift into a sweet dream when he was awoken by a gentle knock on his door.  
>His mind rushed back to reality and he sat up, he heard the knock again. Something was wrong, he panicked and rushed to the door.<p>

"Rapunzel" He gasped. "What are you doing here?" His mind was running through the many possibilities that could have brought her to his door. "Are you hurt, is something wrong?" She looked up at him sheepishly, her hands twisting around each other nervously.

"Eugene, I.." There was a creak on the stairs at the far end of the hallway and the glow of a candle moved closer.

"Quick Blondie, come inside." He reached for her hand and pulled her in, closing the door quietly behind her. The last thing he needed was for a guard to catch him with the princess at this late hour. She stood in his room, in a long white nightgown, looking around curiously. "Are you ok?" he asked as he walked towards her.

"Yes" she stuttered. "And no, Eugene, I can't sleep, and when I try all I do is dream about Gothel and what happened in the tower, what could have happened." Her voice was rushed and charged with emotion. "It keeps going over and over in my mind; I can't make it stop Eugene. And that room is so big and lonely, I missed you" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, threatening to spill over. He went to her, he held her to him as he tried to find the words to comfort her.

"Rapunzel, I know what happened was terrible, and frightening, it's normal that you feel upset by it. But you're ok and I'm ok and in time, you'll start to feel better, I promise." In one swift, smooth movement he pulled her up into his arms and walked her to the bed.

"You really think so?" She asked him as she wiped her tears away, her small body light in his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed and cradled her to him.

"Of course Blondie, we've got each other now and I'm going to look after you every step of the way." He smiled down at her caressing her cheek and wiping away the last of her tears.

"Eugene."She asked as her small hands rested on his bare chest making his heart beat faster.

"Yes Rapunzel?"He cleared his throat as he fought to bring his heart back to a normal pace.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" She whispered.

"I..uh" Every part of him was deliriously shouting yes to him, except for one small part of his brain that raised the question: how am I going to explain having her in my room when the guards find she is missing from her bed in the morning? He winced at the thought of having to explain that to the king. But then he looked down at her, the fear shimmering in her eyes, she bit her lip as she anxiously awaited his answer. How could he deny her anything she wanted? "Of course you can, we'll just figure out a way of sneaking you back into your room in the morning." He relented.

"Thank you." She threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair. She smelled wonderful, his earlier thoughts of being with her rushed back to him and he allowed himself a moment to memorise the feel of her in his arms, the scent of her. He turned his head and gently kissed her check, if he was patient he'd get to experience all of her wonders. He let out a long sigh. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Eugene chuckled. Her innocence was going to test him, that was one thing he was certain of.

"Nothing is wrong at all Blondie, let's get you in to bed, it's late and you must be exhausted." She climbed out of his arms and up to the pillows. Eugene moved a chair from the other side of the room over to the bed pulled on his shirt and settled back to wait for her to sleep. She looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Eugene, why are you sitting in that chair? Aren't you tired?" She sat up in bed.

"Um, it's probably best that I stay here, just in case a guard comes bursting in the door if they realise you are not in your bed." He smiled at her, unsure if she was aware of the implications of her being in his room, let alone his bed.

"But, oh." She paused, her face dropped. "I get it. Sorry, I hadn't even thought of that." She blushed. "This is all so new, I must be making a hundred mistakes every day, I didn't mean to make it awkward for you." She started climbing out of the bed, anxious frowns creasing her brow. "I should go." Eugene gently stopped her and pushed her back to the bed. He leaned over her.

"It's not awkward for me at all, and believe me when I tell you that I would love to lay beside you tonight, to hold you while you sleep and keep the bad dreams away." He paused, looking deeply into her eyes, making sure she was hearing every word. "But I want a lifetime of doing that, and if I risk getting caught with you now, I'd never get to do it again." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, Eugene!" She threw her arms around him again, pulling him onto the bed. She kissed him, a long, curious, passion fuelled kiss that left him breathless. He pulled back, he was on top of her, she was clinging to him with a coy smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. How did he go from being the noble gentleman sitting respectfully on the chair to lying on top of her, desperately wanting to let their bodies intertwine, in such a small amount of time? He couldn't and wouldn't let this get out of control he thought, but one more kiss wouldn't hurt and then he'd go right back to being the noble gentleman. He lowered his mouth to hers and gently kissed her, the sensation was exquisite, the little whimper of pleasure she let out, drove him crazy and he deepened the kiss, he tasted her and let her taste him, he led her, showing her the way. They broke apart for air and he battled to pull away from her, he had to or he soon wouldn't be able to.

"That was amazing!" She squealed. "We should do that all the time!" Giggling she fell back onto the pillows.

Eugene sat back in the chair and ran his hand through his hair as he drew in deep breaths of air and tried to slow his blood.

"You are much too good at that." He laughed as he shook off the haze of lust from his mind.

She had curled herself up in the bed and was resting her head on the pillow as she gazed at him. He smiled back. She patted the bed and raised her eyebrows at him in question. He sat back in the chair and shook his head. She patted the bed again and gave him a pleading look. He ran his hands through his hair again and looked to the ceiling, why was she making it so hard? She shuffled back in the bed making more room for him and patted it again.

"All right Blondie, I'll cut you a deal. I'll stay with you until you get to sleep, but then I'm taking you back to your room."

"But what if I wake up through the night again?"

"Then you just come straight back and we'll do it all again." He assured her.

"Including the kiss?" she bargained.

"Especially the kiss." He agreed.

"Deal" she smiled holding out her hand to shake on it. He took her hand and she pulled him towards the bed. He climbed in beside her, sitting up against the headboard as she snuggled up against him. He gently stroked her hair as she settled, enjoying having her near him and especially in his bed.

"Goodnight Eugene" She mumbled.

"Goodnight Rapunzel. Sweet dreams." He whispered to her and waited for her to fall into a deep, peaceful slumber. It was going to be a long night he thought, even once he got her back to her room, his bed was going to smell of her, how could he possibly sleep when every breath would remind him of her and that kiss? Oh, well, he shrugged his shoulders and looked down at her, it was worth it, she was worth it.


End file.
